Washington: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers commended the Washington Leadership Program (WLP), hosted annually by the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA), offering a six-week internship opportunity to Indian-American students in congressional offices and federal agencies. They also voiced strong support for India-U.S. friendship at the IACPA’s 5th Annual Summer Congressional Reception held at the Reserve Officers Association here on July 9.

Deputy Chief of Indian Mission Alok Prasad recalled his friendship with Gopal Raju, founder of IACPA, a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the participation of Indian Americans in public policy and the political process. “One of the greatest things he has done is to set up the Center,” he said.

WLP is seen as setting the stage for greater political empowerment of the entire Indian-American community

Before assuming the No. 2 position in the Indian Embassy here last year, Prasad, an Indian Foreign Service officer, headed the Americas Desk in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He said the first paper that he used to read in New Delhi was India Abroad, then edited by Gopal Raju.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), turning to the interns, said, “I think you all (interns) owe a depth of gratitude” to those who helped put in place this process of learning, because it would not only be important for their future but also important in terms of Indian-American relations. “As we get more Indian-Americans involved in this process and as we build the ties between India and the United States, it is win for this country as it is win for India,” he said.

The Republican lawmaker made no secret of his “appreciation” for Congressman Frank Pallone, a Democrat, for his idea, conceived a decade ago, of building the India Caucus in a bid to improve India-U.S. relations. The caucus, in its initial stages, attracted only about eight members. Royce said, “Today, we have 130 lawmakers on the Caucus’ roll. So, you can see the impact that one person and a good idea can have over time.”

Royce said he knew that all the interns present in the room would have “an impact one way or the other and will make use in life of what you have learned here. So I wanted to express my appreciation. I always had Indian Americans on my staff serving as interns ---- and right now we have Sophia in your program and she is doing a good job,” Royce said.

Rep. Pallone shared the views of fellow caucus members about the yeoman service that the WLP had of late been rendering to the Indian-American community. He said, “I was thinking why this program was so successful. I think it has to do with the kind of people involved in the process.”

He said, “We always get quality people. When somebody who comes in this program, there is no question whether they can be quality person, they always are. They are really good.”

“All I can say is: Please keep it up, because we see a whole generation of people, having been interns, now getting involved politically and or are active like Kapil (referring to his one-time aide Kapil Sharma, who is now working for the Madison Group). I believe the next generation (of Indian-Americans) will get better involved,” Pallone said.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) said: “It is an exciting time to be on the Hill because everything happens around this time here. These next three weeks are going to be mind-boggling for most of you. And now you are going to see that we are in the process of winding down and go home to brace (ourselves) for re-elections; then comes the budget. Somehow we have to find ways to spend $3 trillion in three weeks. It is, indeed, an interesting time to be in this city.”

McDermott brought along a copy of a three-page letter addressed to Attorney General John Ashcroft by someone who planned to tour the Universal Studios in California. But an FBI agent came to question him and he had to miss the tour.

By reading out the letter, McDermott wanted to bring home to the interns why their job of handling mail is important. “If someone sits down and writes a three-page letter, he has got something on his mind. One of the main things that you learned in this experience is to think about how do we find out what people want. How do we find out what people think, and we are totally dependent on people like you in our office who read this kind of mail and come to us with ideas about what all should be changed and where justice had to be dealt with. Transmission of the idea that comes in the letter like this to a member of Congress is a very important job to do.”

Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the IACPA’s is a great internship program that Congress had seen and it has “expanded bigger and bigger.” He recalled the role played by interns when Rep. Dan Burton (R-IND), years ago, unsuccessfully brought in the House an amendment to cut the low level of economic assistance that the United States made to India. He said, “Then, the IACPA’s interns got involved, got on the phones, and all of them got together and did a very sophisticated, intensive clip operation. We got the amendment defeated. They are actually among the best and brightest interns on the Hill. It is good to see the improvement in the quality of interns every year. It is kind of a role model.”

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NEV), who described her visit to India in January this year as a “life-changing experience,” said: “It is a magnificent country and it has a strong democracy, very much like what we have in this nation ---- the United States. And together, these two great democracies — the largest democracy in the world and the greatest democracy in the world — must work together in a common effort to spread democracy, spread liberties, spread rule of law across the planet, and I am very, very optimistic that we will be able to do so.”

Berkley, who was herself a student intern in Washington some three decades ago, however, said: “We can’t do all that without all of you and the fact that you are here interning in this nation’s capital is absolutely spectacular. I am excited to be here and to share this experience.”

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) said his state, South Carolina, has a huge Indian-American presence, especially in the hospitality business. He said his interest in India dates back to when his father, who was in the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in China. He used to travel to India. He remembered so well his mother and father recalling their experiences in India. “Even when they go on vacation to Caribbean, they will return and talk about the Indian population there,” he added.

He had a personal opportunity to know the Indian community when, many years ago, they began investing in the hospitality industry in South Carolina and he immediately got to know so many different Indian families and appreciated the community’s sincerity and hard work. He said they came from all over the world — from Tahiti, Uganda, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Canada — and made the United States their home. “Every year, I speak at the India Day celebrations in August in South Carolina. I have seen a growth from a situation when we had 100 people present at the function. Now 1,500 people come.”

The IACPA is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the participation of Indian Americans in public policy and the political process. Recently, IACPA has been extremely active in educating lawmakers and local law enforcement agencies in combating hate crimes and racial profiling following the terrorist acts of Sept. 11. Additionally, IACPA also hosts one of the most comprehensive summer internship programs for undergraduate students in Washington, D.C. Under the WLP, IACPA interns are placed in a six-week internship in congressional offices and federal agencies. Aside from the internship, the students engage in a two-week educational program on issues affecting the Indian-American community, taught by IACPA associates, public policymakers and community leaders.